Timelike and spacelike hadron form factors, Fock state components and light-front dynamics

A unified description of spacelike and timelike hadron form factors within a light-front model was successfully applied to the pion. The model is extended to the nucleon to study the role of $q \bar q$ pair production and of nonvalence components in the nucleon form factors. Preliminary results in the spacelike range $0 \le Q^2 \le 10 ~ (GeV/c)^2$ are presented.Comment: 4 pages, espcrc1.sty. proceedings of FB XVIII (August 2006, Brazil), to be published in Nucl. Phys.

Electromagnetic Hadron Form Factors and Higher Fock Components

Investigation of the spacelike and timelike electromagnetic form factors of hadrons, within a relativistic microscopical model characterized by a small set of hypothesis, could shed light on the components of hadron states beyond the valence one. Our relativistic approach has been successfully applied first to the pion and then the extension to the nucleon has been undertaken. The pion case is shortly reviewed as an illustrative example for introducing the main ingredients of our approach, and preliminary results for the nucleon in the spacelike range $-10 (GeV/c)^2\le q^2 \le 0$ are evaluated.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figs, espcrc1.sty included. Proceedings of Fifth International Conference on Perspectives In Hadronic Physics, ICTP, May 22-26, 200

Electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon in spacelike and timelike regions

An approach for a unified description of the nucleon electromagnetic form factors in spacelike and timelike regions is presented. The main ingredients of our model are: $i)$ a Mandelstam formula for the matrix elements of the nucleon electromagnetic current; $ii)$ a 3-dimensional reduction of the problem on the Light-Front performed within the so-called {\tt Propagator Pole Approximation} ({\bf PPA}), which consists in disregarding the analytical structure of the Bethe-Salpeter amplitudes and of the quark-photon vertex function in the integration over the minus components of the quark momenta; $iii)$ a dressed photon vertex in the $q\bar{q}$ channel, where the photon is described by its spin-1, hadronic component.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figs., macro added. Proceedings of the XI Conf. on Problems in Theoretical Nuclear Physics, Cortona, Oct. 11-14, 200

The ionizing sources of luminous compact HII regions in the RCW106 and RCW122 clouds

Given the rarity of young O star candidates, compact HII regions embedded in dense molecular cores continue to serve as potential sites to peer into the details of high-mass star formation. To uncover the ionizing sources of the most luminous and compact HII regions embedded in the RCW106 and RCW122 giant molecular clouds, known to be relatively nearby (2-4 kpc) and isolated, thus providing an opportunity to examine spatial scales of a few hundred to a thousand AU in size. High spatial resolution (0.3"), mid-infrared spectra (R=350), including the fine structure lines [ArIII] and [NeII], were obtained for four luminous compact HII regions, embedded inside the dense cores within the RCW106 and RCW122 molecular cloud complexes. At this resolution, these targets reveal point-like sources surrounded by nebulosity of different morphologies, uncovering details at spatial dimensions of <1000AU. The point-like sources display [ArIII] and [NeII] lines - the ratios of which are used to estimate the temperature of the embedded sources. The derived temperatures are indicative of mid-late O type objects for all the sources with [ArIII] emission. Previously known characteristics of these targets from the literature, including evidence of disk or accretion suggest that the identified sources may grow more to become early-type O stars by the end of the star formation process

"Improving the legitimacy of medicines funding decisions: A critical literature review"

Many healthcare systems globally provide publicly subsidised access to prescribed medicines. Decisions about which medicines to fund affect a range of stakeholders and it is not reasonable to expect that medicines funding decisions are supported by all stakeholder groups all the time. A more realistic aim may be for decisions to be understood and accepted as legitimate by stakeholders, however several shortcomings of existing processes make it difficult to achieve this aim. To date, the main strategy to address these shortcomings has been to increase stakeholder involvement in decision-making, either by eliciting stakeholder values or increasing stakeholder participation in decision-making. Despite these efforts, there is growing evidence that decision-makers are falling short when it comes to the perceived legitimacy of their resource allocation processes and decisions. As such, there is a pressing need for decision-makers to think seriously and creatively about ways to increase the legitimacy of their processes and to make them more acceptable to a wider range of stakeholders. In this article we summarise and critique existing literature on the legitimacy of public resource allocation processes, and make some practical suggestions for those who are concerned about this issue. Keywords: pharmaceutical funding decisions, legitimacy, stakeholder engagement, resource allocation, priority setting.NHMR

Detection of the Vortex Dynamic Regimes in MgB2 by Third Harmonic AC Susceptibility Measurements

In a type-II superconductor the generation of higher harmonics in the magnetic response to an alternating magnetic field is a consequence of the non-linearity in the I-V relationship. The shape of the current-voltage (I-V) curve is determined by the current dependence of the thermal activation energy U(J) and is thus related to the dynamical regimes governing the vortex motion. In order to investigate the vortex dynamics in MgB2 bulk superconductors we have studied the fundamental (chi1) and third (chi3) harmonics of the ac magnetic susceptibility. Measurements have been performed as a function of the temperature and the dc magnetic field, up to 9 T, for various frequencies and amplitudes of the ac field. We show that the analysis of the behaviour in frequency of chi3(T) and chi3(B) curves can provide clear information about the non-linearity in different regions of the I-V characteristic. By comparing the experimental curves with numerical simulations of the non-linear diffusion equation for the magnetic field we are able to resolve the crossover between a dissipative regime governed by flux creep and one dominated by flux flow phenomena.Comment: to be published in "Horizons in Superconductivity Research" (Nova Science Publishers, Inc., NY, 2003

The distribution of oxygen at the Ni81Fe19/Ta interface

The knowledge of how oxygen atoms are distributed at a magnetic-metal / oxide, or magnetic-metal / non-magnetic-metal interface, can be an useful tool to optimize device production. Multilayered Ni81Fe19 / Ta samples consisting of 15 bilayers of 2.5 nm each, grown onto glass substrates by magnetron sputtering from Ni81Fe19 and Ta targets, have been investigated. X-ray absorption near edge structure, extended X-Ray absorption fine structure, small angle X-ray diffraction, and simulations, were used to characterize the samples. Oxygen atoms incorporated onto Ni81Fe19 films during O2 exposition are mainly bonded to Fe atoms. This partial oxidation of the Ni81Fe19 surface works as a barrier to arriving Ta atoms, preventing intermixing at the Ni81Fe19 / Ta interface. The reduction of the Ni81Fe19 surface by the formation of TaO x is observed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Advances in Materials Science and Engineerin

Beta defensin-2 is reduced in central but not in distal airways of smoker COPD patients

Background: Altered pulmonary defenses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may promote distal airways bacterial colonization. The expression/activation of Toll Like receptors (TLR) and beta 2 defensin (HBD2) release by epithelial cells crucially affect pulmonary defence mechanisms. Methods: The epithelial expression of TLR4 and of HBD2 was assessed in surgical specimens from current smokers COPD (s-COPD; n = 17), ex-smokers COPD (ex-s-COPD; n = 8), smokers without COPD (S; n = 12), and from non-smoker non-COPD subjects (C; n = 13). Results: In distal airways, s-COPD highly expressed TLR4 and HBD2. In central airways, S and s-COPD showed increased TLR4 expression. Lower HBD2 expression was observed in central airways of s-COPD when compared to S and to ex-s-COPD. s-COPD had a reduced HBD2 gene expression as demonstrated by real-time PCR on micro-dissected bronchial epithelial cells. Furthermore, HBD2 expression positively correlated with FEV1/FVC ratio and inversely correlated with the cigarette smoke exposure. In a bronchial epithelial cell line (16 HBE) IL-1β significantly induced the HBD2 mRNA expression and cigarette smoke extracts significantly counteracted this IL-1 mediated effect reducing both the activation of NFkB pathway and the interaction between NFkB and HBD2 promoter. Conclusions: This study provides new insights on the possible mechanisms involved in the alteration of innate immunity mechanisms in COPD. © 2012 Pace et al